Key for rolling collapsible tubes



Jan. 2, 1951 H. w BUBAR KEY FOR ROLLING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed June 22, 1949 Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KEY FOR ROLLING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Herbert W. Bubar, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application June 22, 1949, Serial No. 100,565

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a winding key for rolling the empty portion of a collapsible tube.

Winding keys for this type of a tube having coacting tube engaging arms and a handle for rotating said arms to wind the empty portion of a collapsible tube therearound have been known and used in the past. Their constructions, however, in respect of the manner in which the tube engaging arms are brought and retained together to grip the empty portion of the tube, have been quite inconvenient to use and expensive to manufacture. My invention overcomes the difficulties of this nature in use and manufacture of the tube rolling keys of the prior art.

A tube rolling key of the type under discussion has two co-acting tube engaging arms. According to my invention, each of these arms has a handle bar extending therefrom adjacent its free end. The bars are each form-ed with a roughened surface for sliding engagement one with the other, as the co-acting arms are brought together to grip the empty portion of a tube, and the arms are resilient whereby to urge the said roughened surfaces into engagement with each other to retain the arms from separating after they have been actuated together. The invention will be clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the manner in which a tube winding key according to the present invention is used.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a single piece of wire bent so that it can be made to form a tube key according to the invention.

Figure 3 is a view of thetube winder of Figure 2 ready for use.

Figure 4 is a view showing the handle bars displaced from each other and a manner of forming the roughened surfaces thereon according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the letter A generally indicates a key for winding collapsible tubes according to the invention. The embodiment shown is formed from a single piece of wire bent into a U-shape, the sides of the U forming two co-acting tube engaging arms Hi and It each having its free end formed into a minor U with an elongated side arm to provide handle bars 52 and I3. The handle bars l2 and I3 are each formed with roughened surfaces It and 15 respectively for sliding inter-engagement as the coacting arms l and H are actuated towards each other.

When the wire is first formed to the shape just described it is sprung as illustrated in Figure 2 to cause the handle bars It and it to normally assume a position displaced from each other so that when the roughened surface M of the handle bar 52 is caused to overlie the roughened surface I5 of the handle bar it as in Figure 3, there will be a resilient force, urging the roughened surfaces 44 and it into engagement with, each other. It will be apparent as the arms ii) and H are actuated towards each other from a position shown in Figure 3 that the roughened surfaces i4 and IE will slidably engage with each other. Once the arms I Q and l l have been brought together, however, their resiliency will cause the roughened surfaces i i and E5 of the bars l2 and I3 to lock together and prevent them. from separating.

The form of the roughened surface for the bars 12 and i3 is illustrated in the drawings. The surfaces there shown will be seen to comprise a series of teeth it each having a flank I? substantially perpendicular to the bar and flank I8 inclined to the bar and designed such that the inclined flanks slidably engage with each other as the arms It and it are brought together and the straight flanks lock With each other due to the resiliency of the arms it and II to prevent bars I2 and is from moving with respect to each other in the opposite direction.

The manner of using the key is illustrated in Figure 1. The empty bottom portion of the tube is inserted between the arms It and H'. Pressure is then exerted at the end of the handle bars 52 and is to cause the arms It! and H to engage with opposite sides of the tube. Once this engagement has been effected, the roughened surfaces [4 and I5 and the resiliency of the arms in and l i will prevent the arms from becoming separated again. It is then merely necessary to turn the handle of the key and roll the empty portion of the tube thereon.

If it is desired to separate the co-acting arms ill and I 5 after they have been actuated together it is merely necessary to separate the locked roughened surfaces M and 55 as shown in Figure l. This will free the arms to spread apart again.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A key for winding collapsible tubes comprising two co-acting tube engaging arms each having a handle bar extending therefrom adjacent its free end, each of said bars being formed with a roughened surface for sliding engagement with the other as the co-acting arms are actuated towards each other, said arms being resilient to urge said roughened surfaces into engagement wards each other, said arms being resilient to urge said roughened surfaces into engagement with each other, said roughened 'surfaeeson .said bar comprising a series of teeth, each tooth hav- 7 ing' a flank substantially perpendicular to 'said bar, and a flank inclined to said bar, the inclined flanks on one bar being designed to slidably engage with the inclined flanks on the other bar when said arms are actuated towards each other as aforesaid, perpendicular flanks 1011' :one bar looking with perpendicular flanks on the other bar to prevent relative movement therebetween in the opposite direction.

3. Aikey for winding collapsible tubes :comprising asingle piece of wirelbent-tintora .U-shape, the sides of .said U forming two co-eacting "tubeengaging arms, the'free ends or said arms having their ends bent into aminor :U to :form handle bars, each of said bars being formed with :a roughened surface, said arms being resilient zto 30 Number urge said roughened surfaces into engagement with each other, said roughened surfaces being formed for sliding engagement to slidably engage with each other as the arms are actuated towards each other and to lock with each other to prevent the arms from moving in the opposite direction, said roughened surfaces on said bars comprising a series of teeth, each tooth having a flank substantially perpendicular to said bar and a flank inclined to said .bar, the inclined flanks on the one bar being designed to slidably engage with the inclined flanks on the other bar when said arms are actuated towards each other as aforesaid-,ztbe perpendicular flanks on one bar locking with the perpendicular flanks on the other bar to *prevent relative movement therebetween in the opposite-direction.

HERBERT W. BUBAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file :of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Rostiser July 22, 1-930 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland June 16,1939

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